“Where Guilford has been creates where it is now,” prospective student Peter Gott said, “and if you’re not aware of where you’ve been, you won’t end up where you had been heading.” As Guilford widens its intended audience to increase enrollment, its style of advertisement will change. In the process, Guilford cannot lose touch with its heritage.
“We are not officially affiliated with Quakerism, and we have no formal connection with Quakerism,” said Kent Chabotar, Guilford College President. “But we celebrate our heritage. Most schools don’t. We are on the left of the spectrum of the nation’s 13 Quaker colleges. We are more actively Quaker. Most of these schools have non-Quaker presidents now.”
Chabotar also said, “Guilford has seven core values that were developed by the community over a year, and three of these values are also Quaker testimonies: equality, integrity and community.”
“Quaker values have been removed from course evaluations students fill out at the end of each semester,” senior Jai Dave said. “This is horrific. We must embrace both the past and future. We can hold onto Quaker values and merge them with new technologies and teaching methods.”
“I want to go to a college where I find opportunities to learn and change the world,” prospective student Maggie Gall said. “I feel Guilford is a place where – thanks to its Quaker heritage – peace, equality and betterment of the community are key concepts shared among faculty and students.”
Not everyone is worried that Guilford will lose touch with its Quaker roots as it changes.
Junior Tristan Wilson, a Quaker, said that he’s not pessimistic about Guilford’s future. “Kent has made a commitment, both verbally and in the SLRP, to Quaker values,” he said.
“I think it’s great that Kent is integrating Quakerism into the FYE program,” Dave said. “We need to be aware of the spirit of the school in the past and know that, by attending, we’re continuing its legacy.”
“I don’t know that Guilford is shifting away from Quakerism as radically as some fear,” said Max Carter, Director of the Friends Center and Campus Ministry Coordinator. “Where people rightly have questions is whether Guilford’s commitment to Quaker values is thoroughly embedded in all aspects of Guilford life or isolated as an SLRP goal. Quaker values don’t need veto power. But they do need a place at the table in all situations, and we’re not there yet.”
Some students have been profoundly inspired by Quakerism and want to see the school strengthen its commitment further.
“Quaker values have inspired me to look at how I walk on the world ecologically, and how my economics and actions affect the world,” sophomore Natan Harel said. “Maybe the school does this too, but I just don’t see it.”
“Quakerism has an inner beauty that can be appreciated by and cause change in anyone from any religious background,” Dave said. “Coming from a Hindu background, I was suprised how flawlessly Quakerism echoed my own beliefs and values. Studying Quaker history, you find people who lived by their values. For example, John Woolman wouldn’t ride on a carriage because it did violence to the horses.”
And when it advertises itself, Guilford can’t just state that it is committed to certain values. Guilford must show prospective students examples of these values in action.
First-year Joe Pelcher said that when he visited Guilford last spring, he didn’t feel the speeches and brochures told him much about the school because “they focused on things any college can say without making any of it personal to Guilford.”
“Guilford needs to emphasize its social atmosphere and give story-telling examples of how it lives up to what it says,” Pelcher said. “Personal stories have more impact because they humanize the school. For example, we truly value equality here, and we could present this much more strongly.”
Guilford’s Quaker heritage is immensely valuable and must be preserved.
We must continue emphasizing that this is a school that values every individual equally as a potential source of truth, and recognizes that truth sometimes comes from unlikely sources. We must continue emphasizing integrity, equality, simplicity, peace and community.
And we must continue to ensure that these values are integrated into classroom life, social life, advertising and decision-making.
These values are more than just religious testimonies. They are principles that create an environment where everyone can be accepted and feel comfortable enough to learn, grow and be changed by each other.